Halloween Pumpkin Roast

October 31, 2011 By Laura

Halloween is the perfect day for roasting pumpkin.

Touchdown!!! (John Bazemore/AP Photo)

Before I get into that tastiness, I need to talk a little football. In addition to being Halloween weekend, it was a HUGE football weekend. Georgia Tech‘s Homecoming game was against the undefeated Clemson Tigers. Tech won pretty 31-17, making me one happy girl Saturday night. 🙂

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Every fall people go crazy over the return of canned pumpkin to grocery store shelves. While the canned stuff is good (and convenient), it doesn’t hold a candle to homemade pumpkin puree.

Don’t use your jack-o-laterns for this.

Recycling is good, but those are different pumpkins. What you want to use is the smaller Sugar Pie Pumpkin, which has a sweeter, softer flesh. They can be found at most grocery stores.

Gutted and ready to roast

Yes, it is slightly more time-consuming than opening a can. The end result is well worth it. There is just something about the flavor and the texture that is much, much better. It will take your pumpkin pies and breads to a new level of delicious.

Post-Roast Pumpkin

You’ll notice a huge difference when using it for non-baking purposes too. I love mixing it in my Greek yogurt, smoothies, and pasta dishes.

Some people lick batter out of bowls… I may have done something similar with this pumpkin skin.

Yesterday I even mixed my pumpkin puree with coconut milk and cayenne and used it as a marinade for my tempeh before pan-frying it. Lunch doesn’t get more fall than that!

Pumpkin-encrusted tempeh salad

The puree can be portioned and frozen for later use (if you don’t eat it all at once). Pumpkin muffins year-round!

Pumpkin puree

The puree is decadent. Fresh pumpkin contains more moisture than canned, making the texture absolutely fabulous. You won’t be able to resist sprinkling some cinnamon and nutmeg on it for a mid-morning snack.

Perfect post-photo shoot snack

Don’t forget to save the seeds for roasting!

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It wasn’t a bad fitness week. Thank you all for your well-wishes regarding my injury. I did make the call not to run my portion of the relay. It was a tough decision, but I just literally couldn’t run more even a mile Saturday morning. Now I’m concentrating on healing up and being able to run the Half Marathon on Thanksgiving. I can’t believe its less than a month away!

Workout Recap (10/24-10/30)

Monday – 4 mile run, 6 min plank sequence, 100 push-ups
Tuesday – Biceps/Back, P90X Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
Wednesday – 100 push-ups
Thursday – 6 mile run, 100 push-ups
Friday – Triceps/Chest, Ab Ripper X
Saturday – Shoulders/Butt, 45 mins elliptical, 100 push-ups
Sunday – 15 mins abs, 45 mins stationary bike, 100 push-ups

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Roasted Pumpkin

1 sugar pie pumpkin
olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the “guts” (save the seeds to roast later), and then slice each half once to create a total of 4 pieces. Rub the wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet to bake for about an hour (or until tender).

Scoop the meat out of the skins and puree in food processor.

***

Best costume of the weekend: Charlie Sheen with Goddesses.

What was the best costume you saw this weekend (or at work today)?

What food items commonly purchased pre-made do you like to make yourself?

Cinnamon Coffee and a PSA

October 29, 2011 By Laura

The Atlanta Marathon is this weekend.

I am supposed to relay it with a team of 4, running a 7.2 mile leg of it. Wellll… I went for a run on Thursday thinking if I could do 6 then I could certainly do 7. It was going really well – I felt good, no knee pain. Was my running mojo back?!

Celebration penalty. Around mile 5.5 I felt a little pop in my heel/ankle area. I stopped to stretch it out… and kept going only to have to stop again due to the pain. More stretching followed by a limp-run back home. Lots of ice and rest. Still pain.

Friday I had an appointment with my PT to continue therapy on my knee, so I asked him to take a look. He thinks I may have a pull or small tear in my Achilles area. Apparently there’s a muscle group back there (he said a bunch of big words I didn’t absorb) that feels jacked up. He put some electro-thing and ice on it to try to calm the inflammation… but it still hurts ~~like a b*tch~~.

I’m really concerned that I won’t be able to run at all tomorrow and I need to make that call this morning. Backing out last minute sucks, but I would rather do that than hurt my relay team (and myself) worse by failing to finish. So I’m going to try a short jog in a minute to see what I can do. *sigh*

First I need coffee.

Peet’s Coffee sent over some delicious roasts for me to sample as part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker’s program (but you know I’ll give my honest, unbiased opinion). I like to use cinnamon in my coffee, so I selected the Cafe Domingo to try first. I love adding cinnamon to (almost) anything with Latin flavor!

I prepare the coffee pot to make 4 cups. Before I hit start I add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to the grounds. It adds a little extra taste and smells amazing while brewing!

Peet’s Cafe Domingo was delicious – it was more smooth than many I’ve tried without compromising flavor. This is important to me because I drink my coffee black.

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Speaking of drinking…

…in case you are planning to drink this Halloween weekend, I have a little PSA for you.

Eat a lot of strawberries before and after indulging.

A European study done on rats concluded that strawberries can protect the stomach mucous membrane, which is harmed by drinking.

You’re welcome.

***

May I suggest Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal this morning? 🙂

What is the most cleaver Halloween costume you’ve seen?

Would you back out of a relay team or try to tough it out and run?

A Spoonful of Sugarland + Truffles in Alba, Italy

October 24, 2011 By Laura

Being in Alba for the Truffle Festival is a real treat.

Understatement of the year.

Our last day in Alba happened the be the first day of the Truffle Festival (have I mentioned how lucky we were on this trip?!).

The city was filled with the smell of truffles, cheese, and chocolate. See why I ~~nearly pitched a fit~~ whimpered when it was time to go?

I wonder how much $$$ in truffles was in the city that day? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands?

We saw the parade, which included flag throwers (like the guy in Under the Tuscan Sun!). They were great… but I really loved it when they almost dropped the flag and had to do diving catches:

It’s like something out of a movie… next time I come back I’ll time it better to be there for more of the festival!

I keep saying it, but it’s incredible how much Italy really does look like a postcard or a movie scene.

I wrote previously that I am really struggling to get back into the swing of things workout-wise. My muscles feel incredibly tight and I’m out of the habit. A massage is in order!

I am making an effort. The intensity level isn’t where I’d like it and I’m struggling to run and am in some pain from my knee injury and a foot problem (scary given next week’s race then the Thanksgiving Half)… but half the battle is getting out the door. That, I have done.

On the injury front, I did do to a therapist who assured me that everything in my knee is intact. He began Soft Tissue Therapy last week and wants to get another session in before next weekend’s race. Apparently I have a lot of scar tissue build up due to old injuries (my right knee always seems to be the one I abuse).

Thank god I have a high pain tolerance… he used something like the Graston Technique which HURTS. He uses a hard little bar to rub hard against the grain of the scar tissue. This re-introduces trauma, which causes inflammation, which increases the blood flow in the area. This supposedly helps re-initiate the healing process of the affected soft tissues.

I needed a spoonful of sugar after that doctor visit… so I hit a concert!

Sugarland‘s show Saturday night was amazing, as usual.

Their stage presence and energy are unparalleled. While I do miss seeing them in small venues with my elbows on the stage, pit seats at Phillips Area are nothing to turn your nose up at!

In other news, I ended the cleanse. This coming weekend I am relaying 7 miles of the Georgia Marathon and I need more complex carbs. And if I’m brutally honest… I wanted to go out this weekend.

Therefore, this Standard Process-esque 21-day cleanse became a 14-day cleanse. I’m happy with that. I feel more energetic and refreshed after the 2 week meat and wine binge in Italy, which is exactly what I wanted to accomplish.

***

I start my leadership development program this morning – so excited!

What are you looking forward to this week?

Have you ever heard of the Graston Technique?

5Ks, Forks, and Knives

October 17, 2011 By Laura

What’s the best way to get back into running?

I was registered before I left for Italy and was nervous about racing one week after returning. Rightfully so – this was a HARD 3.14 miles. I haven’t been running because my knee is iffy and the top of my foot has started hurting. I’m also just out of the habit.

Sunday at noon I laced up and headed to the park for the AIDS Walk and 5K. It was a 1p start, but they were having some sort of issues and we didn’t start until after 1:15p. Did I mention that it hit 80 degrees yesterday?

We started uphill in the heat. I was sunburned from the long wait (sunscreen is smart, even if it is October). Official times aren’t posted yet but I didn’t PR. I crossed the line at 24:39… so I’m thinking my official time is around 24:30.

That’s not a terrible time. What is terrible is how hard it was for me to get that time… and the fact that I’m supposed to run 7 miles of a Marathon relay in 2 weeks, followed by a Half on Thanksgiving. Time to end vacation mode and get little more disciplined about running!

Post-run I participated in the AIDS Walk portion of the event. It was really neat to see so many people come together for a great cause.

Adjusting to the cleanse this time has been much easier this time! When I did it last year, I was tired and had a headache for the first few days. This year I’m not missing meat at all and am enjoying the challenge of eating vegan on the cleanse. The hardest part was not being about to enjoy a beer in the sunshine this weekend! 🙂

Saturday night, over-whelmed by disappointing football outcomes, I watched Forks Over Knives. It definitely has me thinking. The health benefits of a plant-based diet are undeniable.

While I’m not sure I could go the rest of my life without any animal products, I am going to make more of an effort to limit my intake. On day 11 of the cleanse I’m supposed to add a serving of chicken or fish each day; however, I have decided to add tofu and tempeh instead.

Eating clean does make a difference. I feel much better today than I did the last day in Italy after our shared 2 kilos of beef (not to mention the gelato, wine, etc.)!

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t regret it (that steak was incredible). The trip was amazing and I love delicious food. That isn’t something I can sustain.

Over the past 10 days my plant-based diet I have been able to keep my energy up while working an insane number of hours, traveling all week, and not getting as much sleep as I should have. Cheers to plants.

Like I said, I am really struggling to get back into the swing of things workout-wise. My muscles feel incredibly tight and I’m out of the habit. A massage is in order! I need to get back to writing out my weekly workout plan. Having it in writing makes a big difference for me.

I am making an effort. The intensity level isn’t where I’d like it and I’m struggling to run… but half the battle is getting out the door. That, I have done.

Workout Recap (10/10-10/16)

Monday – 100 push-ups
Tuesday – P90X Ab Ripper X
Wednesday – Bike-Elliptical-Treadmill 30 min intervals, Legs, 100 push-ups
Thursday – Tris/Chest, 6 min plank sequence
Friday – 30 mins elliptical, 10 mins Bike, 100 push-ups
Saturday – P90X Kempo, Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
Sunday – 5K AIDS Run, 5K AIDS Walk, Yoga for Runners

***

Italy recap again tomorrow! And a recipe – I made some tastiness this weekend. 🙂

Have you seen Forks over Knives? What did you think?

What was the best part about your weekend?

Crashing Vespas in Italy

October 14, 2011 By Laura

This begins the start of the Bad News Bears portion of the trip.

After Valpolicalla we boarded a train to Cormons in the Friuli region. Trains in Europe are a whole other beast. The 3 of us are not accustomed to public transportation (it isn’t prevalent in the South), so tackling the Italian train system was… interesting. There were a lot of changes and a couple of times I was just crossing my fingers we were headed in the right direction!

We finally made it to Cormons around 9p – I was STARVING, but we still had to walk to our B&B. I’m not sure how far it was, but let me tell you it felt like 10 miles because the wheels on my suitcase BROKE!

I carried that $%&^*n 50 pound bag all the way there. I’ve never been to happy that I lift weights regularly in my life! It wasn’t funny at the time but later I’ll post a pic of me carrying it up the stairs in a train station. It is pretty comical – that thing is bigger than I am!

Our B&B, Borgo San Daniele was beautiful, even at night. Even more beautiful was that our hostess had a full tasting of their wines (which I drank a but too fast following the bag carrying-adventure) and a ton of cheese and cured meats (proscuitto de San Danielle is the most incredible stuff ever). Followed by desserts and grappa. I was so tired that I didn’t remember a picture until the dessert.

We woke up the next day and I decided to go for a jog through Cormons. This would have been a great idea after the wine the night before; however, my knee wasn’t having it. You seen, I had the brilliant idea to go for a run the day we were flying to Italy. Wellllll… I tripped and landed directly on my right knee (which is my bad knee, naturally). It swelled up like a melon on the plane, making me generally miserable by the time we landed.

Anyhow, my “jog” through Cormons turned into a limping walk followed by some ab work in a park I stumbled upon. This was the last time I’d work out until the last day of the trip. That’s unheard of for me!

Back the the beautiful…

Next on our “to do” list was to rent Vespas and drive ~30 km north of Cormons to Cividale. It’s a wine road (though we weren’t about to taste and try to drive scooters!) and we were told that the town of Cividale was a “must see.”

Don’t I look like a natural?

PSA: Driving a Vespa is not as easy as it looks.

We crashed that thing. Twice.

Who just hands you keys to a scooter without any instruction?! The uber chill Italians, that’s who.

I laid thing thing down on the way there and Corinne did it on the way back. Mine scraped the whole side of the Vespa! And I landed on my hurt knee side.

Corinne’s at-fault bruised up my hip and her stomach. I wish I’d gotten a pic of the bruise on my hip on days 3 or 4 – it turned black!

War wounds

We did make it to Cividale, but were pretty shaken by the time we arrived. Shaken and hungry.

Some German guests we met during the previous night’s tasting suggested we try the Salame all acela and the Frico and at Al Campanile. Being so close to the Austrian border (and Germany), we decided to trust them!

Al Campanile

They didn’t steer us wrong! The Salame alla acela was amazing served warm with cooked onions and polenta. The Frico was good, but quite heavy with all the fried potatoes and cheese. It was very German!

Salame all Acela

Frico

But the best part was… a very fresh arugula salad and a cold bier (much-needed after the harrowing ride on the Vespa).

~~Refreshed~~ Slightly less frazzled, we spent the next several hours exploring Cividale. It is pretty tiny, but there we tons of quaint little streets to wander up and down.

With helmets… at this point safety was paramount.

We tour like rockstars – go big or go home!

Gelato Flavor of the Day: Pesca (peach)

Everyone was a little sad when it was time to return the Vespas to Cormons. Mostly because we were scared to drive them back.

I was scared to turn in the scraped Vespa because it was paid for on my card. Valid fear – yesterday I spent 30 mins on the phone with American Express filing a claim for the $413 Euro the rental place charged me for damage. That’s almost $600 USD.

Moving right along… nerve-calming aperitif at Jazz & Wine and dinner at Ai Due Fratelli. The dinner spot was a recommendation for our new friend Erika, the bartender at Jazz & Wine. We have her to thank for one of the top meals of the trip!

Spaghetti with clams and a fantastic clam-olive oil-butter-garlic sauce

Eggplant with red sauce (much like an eggplant parm with out the heavy fry)

Some delicious grilled fish that I can no longer name…

Wait. Where’s the wine? Did we not order a bottle of white with dinner in the region most famous for it’s Pinot Grigios, Friulanos, and Ribollas?

Silly Rabbit, of course we did! White wine, noir-style.

We selected a bottle of the Ribolla, which is a light-bodied, floral wine from the region. It also has hints of lemon, which played well with the fish. The Friulanos tend to be sweeter and the Pinot Grigios are what you see most often in the States. Being red wine fans, we chose more acidic and obscure white. 🙂

Post-dinner we headed back Wine & Jazz to hang out with Erika and some other soon-to-be new friends.

I like sparkly things. Including wine.

Italy Milestone: first bar we closed down during our trip.

Speaking of wine… I’m almost through the first 1/3 of the cleanse!

Interesting observation/learning: it is EXTREMELY difficult it is to be vegan (and bread-free) while on the road. It took the Ritz 2 hours to figure out how to make me wild rice and grilled veggies for dinner on the first night of my stay! They did apologize and offer a free glass of wine… which I turned down (sorry for the cold front – hell hath frozen over).

As nice as they were about making me a special meal… I was starving after it took so long to prepare. Sadly, there wasn’t nearly enough food on my plate and it was really oily. Ritz fail.

For breakfast I wandered down the street to a local St. Louis/Clayton coffee chain called Kaldi’s with the hope that they would be able to make a smoothie for me. Success – they guys there were super nice and made me a delicious berry–banana smoothie WITH the protein powder I brought with me.

Special Diet Travel Tip: pack your own protein powder (BYOP!) and locate a smoothie place. They will use your powder! If you enjoy cinnamon if your smoothies like I do, go ahead and toss some in the baggie with your powder before you leave home. It worked perfectly! I’m a little shocked I didn’t get search by TSA with my bag of powder!

It was so good that I returned for lunch to have a delicious vegetable soup with a (modified) Greek salad. They (once again) went above and beyond to customize my food and were incredibly nice about it. Thanks for making my day, Kaldi’s!

I was actually nervous to call down for dinner after the previous night’s ordeal, but steeled up and dialed room service again.

The Ritz pulled through for dinner this time – they were ready for me! Perfectly cooked wild rice with steamed french green beans, asparagus and spinach with cherry tomatoes on the side. Not too oily or over salted this time! Ritz win.

***

All that flying on Delta will call for some Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls soon ehough. 😉

Do you have any trips for traveling on a special diet?

Have you ever been on Vespa? Would you try it in a foreign country?

Fall Workout Must Haves

October 7, 2011 By Laura

Important announcement: I’m moving to Italy.

Maybe not… but I can dream! We are on a plane back to the U.S. right now. It’s been a crazy, amazingly fun trip and I cannot wait to share it with you all!

Source: blog.delta.com

Heather @ Girly Ever After is today’s special guest. The Atlanta bloggers have really come through for me! She is a recent addition to our “blogger get-together” crew. Very cool fact: she is training to be an Esthetician! I have especially appreciated all of her helpful skin care tips (my “back-acne” = cured!) as I’ve gotten to know her/read her blog.

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Hey! I’m Heather from Girly Ever After.

When Laura asked me to do a guest post for her while she’s in Italy I was more than excited! I read her blog daily so I can’t wait to hear all about her trip. I plan on living vicariously through her while holding down the fort in Atlanta.

The beginning of Fall tends to be slightly awkward when trying to figure out what to wear when you’re thinking of working out. A lot of people skip the treadmill for great outdoor runs in the crisp Autumn air, but what do you wear with the unpredictable weather? It’s chilly when you start out but will get warm the longer you run. It may be a bit windy and overcast is usually a big issue too.

With so many factors to think about I thought I’d give a few of my “Fall workout must haves” to help you transition your workout gear for the season.

Wind Jacket
Lightweight jackets with very little lining are perfect for those days that are too chilly for just a t- shirt and keep you warm. A wind jacket is great water protection too for those rainy days. A wind jacket is better than a cotton long sleeve shirt because of the breathable material that will keep you from getting hot during your workout.

Reflective Gear

This is great to have year round in general, but especially in the months where days are getting shorter. Though we haven’t officially hit the time change it seems that Fall brings darker mornings, overcast days, and lots of black workout gear. If you’re like me the majority of your cool weather gear is black or a dark color. Running in the dark with dark clothes is a disaster waiting to happen so it’s best to wear some sort of reflective gear. I know the first thing that comes to mind is a cross guard vest, but that’s not what I’m talking about. There are tons of great and lightweight items you can wear that don’t have to be clothing. Removable arm bands, reflective straps, headlamps, etc. Each one is great for an early morning and even just to be safe during the day.

Warm Socks

A lot of times socks are an after thought when they’re actually really important. They can make or break a great workout since they are the only things between you and your shoes. If your socks aren’t comfortable, the right size, or the wrong fabric it can cause distractions and be really uncomfortable which leads to an unproductive run. The best socks to get in the cooler temps are those with synthetic fabrics. These help to wick away moisture keeping your feet warmer. Cotton socks keep your feet cold if they get wet from sweat or rainy weather and can create blistering.

All workout attire is, of course, based on preference of the person, but when you’re comfortable it makes for a more enjoyable time.

Happy outdoor exercising!

***

I love that Heather wrote about this – I am NOT an expert. 🙂

Do you have any cooler-weather workout tips to share?

What is your favorite “workout” season?

Remembering Your Passion

October 5, 2011 By Laura

I can’t believe we are on our last leg! Today we are in the Tuscan region and are headed to a wine tour in Montepulciano. Vino Nobile is this area’s best known wine. The guide is the same on we had yesterday for a Brunello di Montacino tour. If the tour is anything like that one, it should be an amazing day. We ended up “kidnapping” the girlfriend of one of the winemakers and everyone shared a magnum bottle of some amazing vino. Only in Siena…

You Twlight fans may recognize this town… it was used as the setting for Volterra in New Moon. (Yes, I had to Google that.)

I am lucky to have Carol @ Lucky Zucca as my guest. Carols is one of the newer (to me) Atlanta bloggers and I have loved getting to know her through our last couple of meet ups and email exchanges. We ever had the opportunity to run a race together already! Carol has the best outlook on life of anyone I know. Just reading her posts will put you in a better mood!

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Hey there, Sprint 2 the Table Readers! I am too excited to have the chance to guest post for Laura while she is in Italy. I’m so jealous! I spent a year living there while I obtained my M.A. degree, and I haven’t had the chance to go back yet (it has been 2 & 1/2 years!).

Editor's note: I am eating LOTS of this for you all.

Anyways, us being super jealous of Laura unfortunately isn’t going to get us stowed away in her luggage, so moving on.

My name is Carol and I blog over at Lucky Zucca. My blog started out as a happiness journal and concentrated on all the things that made me happy each day. Anything from a delicious breakfast to a good workout to chats with friends to more serious topics like how to overcome bad attitudes can show up over there. The main theme is simply to be happy and thankful for what we’ve got, even when things seem all wrong. In my opinion, finding little things to be joyful about is such a better way to live your life than concentrating on the bad.

I hope that anyone that visits my blog is inspired to find those things in their life that make them happy, even when times seem grim. I’ve grown and matured with my blog, and it actually is what helped me get through a difficult time in my life. I was struggling with who I was as a person, and through blogging, I reconnected with the things that make me who I am. I started reading again, began crafting more, started cooking and baking more often, hosting dinner parties for my friends, and exercising more consistently. Many things I had somehow lost touch with quickly came back to me when I started thinking about what made me happiest.

So, how can you do that? How can you get back in touch with your passions? I think the first step is to take a few moments, either at the beginning or the end of each day and think on the things that recently made you happy. Things you found joy in. Did you love that walk you took with your friend outside? Did you enjoy relaxing and reading a new book? Maybe group sports are your thing, maybe it is a favorite TV show. Do you find cooking therapeutic or daunting? Are you really interested in different types of beers? (Editor’s note: she knows me too well already…)

Figure out what makes you happy, relaxed, and stress-free, and concentrate on those things. Look for things you’ve enjoyed for all your life (or, if it’s the beer thing, all of your adult life :D). Make time for those things and be sure to live in the moment and enjoy them while you’re doing them.

I was struggling with making time for everyone else and not making time for myself. When I did have time to myself, I abused it by lazing around, watching mindless television I didn’t enjoy, and essentially wasting my life away. I thought I was fulfilled because of the people that surrounded me, instead I was void because I was ignoring my own passions. Making time for ourselves is one of the best ways we can invest our time.

Love yourself!

Though I still post about those things that make me the happiest, I also sometimes post about how we can find happiness in our lives. My blog has become a project of self-actualization, and a journey that I hope you all will join me on! As I’ve become more self-actualized myself, I’ve realized that sharing how I got from where I was (bored, un-invested, and not passionate about most things) to where I am now (excited again, re-invested, and passionate about many things) could potentially help someone else. So, I try to share my thought processes, things I do to get over the speed bumps we all encounter, and spread a positive attitude.

My passions are being outdoors, adventure (hiking, biking, skydiving, bungee jumping, roller coasters, etc.), exercise, cooking and baking, reading, crafts, dinner parties with my friends, travel, animals and pushing myself to succeed. I’ve connected so well with Laura because she is passionate about many of the same things – namely food, exercise, and pushing herself for success. I believe if you look at the happiest people in the world, you will find that they respect themselves, respect their bodies, and engage in their passions. Reading Laura’s blog has reinforced to me the theme that we can do anything we put our minds to. Her exercise success, cooking successes, and overall positive attitude are inspiring and I admire these things about her the most!

Lucky Zucca is a little different from Sprint2theTable, (mainly that Laura is much better at exercise than I and much more experienced in the kitchen! 😉 – Editor’s note: I think you rock, Carol!) but we embrace the same ideals: a positive outlook and pushing yourself to become successful. Dedicating your life to your loves and passions.

Over at Lucky Zucca, I love to do book reviews, crafting how-to’s, share recipes, document great workouts, and talk about fun activities my friends and I engage in. If any of that interests you, I’d love for you to stop by and leave a comment so we can discuss the things that make you happy!

It's a real party over there!

Thanks for taking the time to read my guest post, and I hope to see you around the blog world soon! And a special thanks to Laura for such an amazing opportunity!

***

I wish Carol would call me every morning for a dose of happiness.

Your turn – what makes you happy?

(My answer is far to obvious tight now… cheers!)

A Few of My Favorite Things

October 1, 2011 By Laura

Morning everyone! Today we are still in the Piedmont region. Have you ever seen a pomegranate tree before? This is right outside our Bed & Breakfast. Oddly, they appear to use them more to decor than for eating.

Lee from In My Tummy is today’s guest-poster. She’s another Atlanta blogger, and one of the first blogs I started reading. The Atlanta crew is pretty good about meeting up, and Lee is always game for running a race!

If you haven’t already, check out her blog. She tells some hilarious stories and her journey into photography has been awesome to watch!

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Hey Sprint 2 the Table Readers. My name is Lee and I blog at inmytummy.com. Like Laura, I live Atlanta and have had the pleasure of meeting her about five or six times. We’ve run two races together and are participating in a marathon relay in October. So, with running in mind, I thought I’d give you a list of my favorite running gear.

I wasn’t always a runner.I started 6 years ago when I randomly decided to train for a half-marathon with my father. Fast forward to 2011 where I’m currently training for my 9th half. In the past six years, I’ve definitely found certain things that I cannot imagine running without and I thought I’d share them with you.

First up, we have the RoadID shoe pouch. Not only does this have the phone numbers of my husband, mom and dad in case something should happen to me while I’m running, but it also has a handy-dandy pouch that is great for carrying keys, money or even a credit card. A lot of people ask me if this gets in the way and the answer is no. I can tie my shoes just fine with it and I actually never take it off until I get new shoes.

Next we have the Spibelt. This is great if you want to carry something that won’t fit in the shoe pouch, like a phone. I don’t always run with my phone, but when I’m running alone, especially if I’m not near my house, I do. The Spibelt looks small but it can fit a phone (I have an iphone) just fine. It’s great because it doesn’t bounce or ride up. I’ve usually forget that I’m even wearing it. (I tend to wear it under my shirt since fanny packs aren’t exactly in fashion right now. I guess that could change though.)

You have to drink water when you run long distances and I prefer to drink mine out of myNathan Hand-held water bottle. It can be a bit awkward to run with a water bottle but this one is really comfortable and has an adjustable strap that you can tighten. It also has a pocket. Apparently, I really like to store things when I run. I’ve heard that running with a water bottle in just one hand makes you run off-kilter, but it doesn’t seem to bother me. At least not right now..

If I’m running more than 7 miles, I will fuel halfway during the run. 7 miles is just sort of an arbitrary number that I picked once, but it seems to work. Gu is my fuel of choice. I really only eat the chocolate one. It tastes like cake frosting. Honest. I’ve tried some of the fruit flavors before and hated them. Chocolate Outrage is where it’s at. What I like best about Gu is that you don’t have to chew it. I tend to choke when I’m trying to eat some sort of chew while I run. It’s not pretty.

And my final tool is how I figure out my runs. I know that a lot of people use mapmyrun.com which is great, but I actually use gmap-pedometer.com. It’s pretty bare-bones, letting you plot your routes using google maps, but I like the simplicity and it works for me.

So those are some of my favorite things. Come visit me at inmytummy.com!

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Lee is a much smarter runner than I am – I defintiely needed these tips!

What are some of your running “must-haves?”

What’s your favorite long run fuel? I usually bring a date… as in the fruit…